Non-refillable bottle.



F. A. BRADLEY.

NON-REPILLABLE BOTTLE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, 1912.

1,042, 1 95. Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

Fig.1.

awuwnto'a AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA c4 FREDERICK A. BRADLEY,0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

Applicationfiled January 3, 1912. Serial No. 669,274.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. BRAD- LEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of the city of Providence, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Tm provements in Non-Refillable Bottles, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in non-refillable bottles, andhas for its object to provide a simple, practical and effective stopperadapted to be readily applied toa bottle having an especiallyconstructed neck portion whereby when the bottle has been emptied itwill be impossible to be refilled without detection.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and effectivelock comprising a set of ratchet teeth and a spring pressed pin toengage said teeth whereby when the stopper has been positioned in theneck of the bottle it will be impossible to remove it without firstbreaking or destroying the same.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Of the accompanying drawing: Figure l is a central sectional elevationillustrating the neck portion of my improved nonrefillable bottle withthe stopper in position therein. Fig. 2- is a detail side elevation ofthe threaded locking stem. Fig. 3- is a sectional plan view illustratingthe holes through the stem flanges as being out of alinement with eachother. Fig. 4- is a sectional view of the sealing member. Fig. 5 is anunderneath view of the stopper showing the ratchet teeth therein. Fig. 6is a plan view of the end of the bottle neck showing the square shapedlocking pin therein. Fig. 7- is a sectional elevation on line '77 ofFig. 6 showing the spring pressed locking pin as engaging the teeth ofthe stopper. Fig. 8- is a detail showing the annular lip receiving cutaway portion on the end of the neck.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a bottle or other suitablepackage for containing liquids, which may be constructed of glass, orother suitable material, which package or bottle is provided with a neckportion 2 having an annular seat 3 near the inner end of the neck whereit commences to open outward into the body of the bottle, said seatbeing scored as at 4: to receive the lips of the seal hereinafterdescribed. Just above this seat 3 the neck is provided with a shortplain annular bearing surface 5 and just above this bearing surface theneck is provided with longitudinal grooves 66 through which the liquidpasses on its way out of the bottle when the seal is raised. The neck isinternally threaded near its outer end at 7 and turned down around itsupper outer edge as at 8 to receive the overhanging lip 9 of the stopper10. This stopper may also be made of glass or of any other suitablematerial and is provided with a discharge opening 11 and inlet airopening 12 on its oppositeside. The body of the stopper is threaded asat 13 to be screwed into the correspondingly threaded portion of theneck. The underside of the head of this stopper is grooved as at 14 andthe groove is provided with a set of ratchet teeth 15, see Figs. 5 and7. The interior of this stopper is provided with a hollow portion 16.This so-called stopper forms sort of a cage or casing in which iscarried and controlled the operating mechanism for preventing therefilling of the bottle. The valve or seal member 17, as it is hereintermed, comprises a small cylindrical shaped member having a taperingbase portion 18 adapted to engage the seat 3 in the neck of the bottle,which base portion may be ground into said seat portion making the sameabsolutely tight, or a suitable cork face may be inserted into the baseportion if desired. As a precaution against shaking or otherwisesurreptitiously removing this seal from its seat, the periphery of thiscylindrical seal is made to enter the bearing portion 5 of the neck witha sliding fit thereby cooperating with the seat to further preventleakage when the bottle is turned bottom side up. This seal is providedwith an upwardly extending bearing 19 longitudinally slotted at 20. Inorder to control the operation of this seal I have provided a stem 21having a threaded body portion adapted to be screwed into acorresponding opening 22 through the head of the stopper. This stem hastwo spaced apart flanges 23 and 24, each being provided with holes 25and 26 set out of alinement one with the other, whereby it is impossiblefor a wire or other instrument to be passed down therethrough tomanipulate the sealing member. The end of this stem is provided with afinger 27 extending into the bearing portion 19 of the seal member, saidfinger having a laterally extending controlling pin 28 which works inthe slot 20 of the seal, whereby the seal is attached to the stem to beproperly positioned thereby and yet be permitted to move up and downindependent of the movement of the stem.

A feature of my invention is the provision of a light spring 29interposed between the lower flange 2st and the upper face of the sealwhereby when the stem is withdrawn from the seal and the latter is freeto move, this spring will serve to counterbalance its weight when thebottle is turned up side down.

Another feature of my invention is the simple and effective means forlocking the stopper in position on the neck of the bottle, which is thatof providing a little pin 30, preferably square, set endwise in acorresponding slot 81, see Fig. 6, in the wall of the bottle neck, saidslot being deep .enough to receive a small spring 32 to en gage thebottom of this pin and press the same out-ward into engagement with theratchet teeth above described.

In the operation of my improved bottle stopper, after the originalfilling of the bot tle, the stopper, including the seal 17 and theadjusting stem 21, is placed in position in the neck of the bottle andthe stopper screwed into the threaded portion in the neck the end of thelittle spring pressed pin 30 engages the ratchet teeth 15 in the groove14 so that when the stopper is seated it is effectually prevented fromever again being unscrewed without destroying the neck of the bottle. Asa further protection against tampering with the spring pin I haveprovided an overhanging lip 9 shutting down over a portion of the neckof the bottle thereby effectually preventing the possibility of anyinstrument being entered to surreptitiously withdraw the locking pin.The stem 21 is now screwed downward pressing the seal 17 securely intoits seat closing the bottle ready for shipment. When it is required towithdraw the liquid from the bottle the stem 21 is unscrewed by means ofthe little handle 33 withdrawing the flange 241 from engagement with theend of the bearing portion 19 whereby when the neck of the bottle isturned downward the spring 29 yields to the weight of the liquid in thebottle and permits the seal to slide downward until its lower edge isbeyond the lower edge of the longitudinal slot 6 when the liquid runsout through said slots the chamber 16 and discharge port 11 into anysuitable receptacle. In order that the discharge may be uninterruptedair is permitted to enter the port 12 to replace the liquid in thebottle as fast as the same is discharged therefrom; It will now be seenthat after the liquid has been thus drawn from the bottle that eventhough the neck of the bottle be immersed in a large receptacle filledwith liquid that the spring 29, aided by the bonyant effect of theliquid upon the sealing member, would cause the latter to rise andeffectually close the apertures, and further by providing the annularside bearing wall 5 about the periphery of the cylindrical sealingmember, it is impossible for any shaking or side motion of the bottle todislodge the seal from its seat in order to work another liquid into thebottle for the purpose of refilling the same.

I claim:

1. In a non-refillable bottle, the combination with a bottle providedwith a valve seat, of a stopper permanently secured to said neck andhaving an air vent and dis charge opening, a sealing member having anextension, a locking stem for said sealing member extending through saidstopper, guards carried by said locking member, a spring including saidextension and interposed between said seal and one of said guards, andmeans for connecting the extension of said seal to said stem, saidconnection being constructed to permit relative play of said stem andsaid seal.

2. In a non-refillable bottle, the oombination with a bottle providedwith a valve seat in'its neck, of a stopper permanently secured to saidneck and having an air vent and a discharge opening, a sealing memberconstructed to engage said seat and provided with a bore, a locking stemengaging said stopper and provided with a finger extend ing into thebore of said sealing member, means for connecting said finger and saidsealing member, said connecting means be ing constructed to permitrelative movement of said finger and said sealing member, and a springinterposed between said locking stem and said sealing member.

8. In a non-refillable bottle, the combination with a bottle providedwith a valve seat in its neck, of a stopper permanently secured to saidneck and having an air vent and discharge opening, a sealing memberconstructed to engage said seat, and provided with a bore, a lockingstem engaging said stopper and provided with a finger extending into thebore of said sealing member, a cross pin secured to said finger, saidsealing member being provided with an enlarged transverse slot toreceive said pin, and a spring interposed between said locking stem andsaid sealing member.

Witnesses E. I. OGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Washington, D. G.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK A. BRADLEY.

HOWARD E. BARLOW,

Commissioner of Patents,

